Americans throw away about 10% of the food they buy at the supermarket. This results in dumping the equivalent of more than 21 million shopping bags full of food into landfills every year. (21)

One pound of red worms can consume half a pound of food waste every day. (26)

Recycling an average-size family's yard waste can make about 300-400 pounds of finished compost, or humus, a year. (21)

Thirty-five million tons of yard trimmings (including grass, leaves, and tree and brush trimmings) are generated in the U.S. annually. Each year, 12% of the yard trimmings produced are composted. (62)

Fallen leaves contain 50-80% of the nutrients that a tree extracts from the Earth. By composting them, we're helping the earth replenish itself. (21)

Grass makes up 70% of all yard waste. If grass clippings are short enough, they quickly decompose and supply the soil with nitrogen and carbon. (21)

When yard waste is buried in landfills, where there is not much oxygen, it releases methane gas, a powerful greenhouse gas that contributes to air pollution and global warming. Methane and other toxins can also condense into liquid and leach into groundwater. (21)